---
title: Connecting to Datadog
subtitle: Choose the right connection method for your infrastructure
description: Overview of different methods to connect Apollo Router to Datadog for telemetry collection
---

This guide provides detailed configuration for the OpenTelemetry Collector and Datadog Agent methods.

## Connection methods

Datadog supports multiple methods for ingesting OpenTelemetry data: the most relevant are covered in this guide for your convenience, but there are others available.

- **[Datadog OpenTelemetry collector (DDOT)](https://docs.datadoghq.com/opentelemetry/setup/)** - Datadog's distribution of the OpenTelemetry Collector
- **[OpenTelemetry collector](/graphos/routing/observability/router-telemetry-otel/apm-guides/datadog/connecting-to-datadog/otel-collector)** - Vendor-neutral telemetry pipeline with advanced processing (guide available)
- **[Datadog agent](/graphos/routing/observability/router-telemetry-otel/apm-guides/datadog/connecting-to-datadog/datadog-agent/datadog-agent-traces)** - Direct connection with native Datadog features (guide available)
- **[Agentless](https://docs.datadoghq.com/opentelemetry/setup/otlp_ingest/)** - Direct OTLP ingestion to Datadog

For complete information on all connection methods including DDOT Collector and Agentless options, refer to [Datadog's OpenTelemetry setup documentation](https://docs.datadoghq.com/opentelemetry/setup/) and [compatibility guide](https://docs.datadoghq.com/opentelemetry/compatibility/).

## Choose a connection method

Choose one of the following methods based on your current Datadog setup:

- If you are setting up a new environment, use the [Datadog OpenTelemetry Collector (DDOT)](https://docs.datadoghq.com/opentelemetry/setup/) or the [OpenTelemetry Collector](/graphos/routing/observability/router-telemetry-otel/apm-guides/datadog/connecting-to-datadog/otel-collector).
- If you already have Datadog Agent running, use the [Datadog Agent](/graphos/routing/observability/router-telemetry-otel/apm-guides/datadog/connecting-to-datadog/datadog-agent/datadog-agent-traces).
- For containerized deployments, consider the [Apollo Runtime container](https://github.com/apollographql/apollo-runtime) which includes pre-configured examples for the OpenTelemetry Collector.
- For a direct connection with no agent deployment required, use the [Agentless](https://docs.datadoghq.com/opentelemetry/setup/) method.

### Datadog OpenTelemetry collector (Recommended)

**[Datadog OpenTelemetry Collector](https://docs.datadoghq.com/opentelemetry/setup/)** is a Datadog-specific distribution of the OpenTelemetry collector that combines the OpenTelemetry Collector and the Datadog Agent. It is currently Datadog's recommended way to send OpenTelemetry to Datadog.
This solution is tightly coupled to Datadog and is the most straightforward solution if your organization already uses Datadog.

### OpenTelemetry collector

**[OpenTelemetry collector](/graphos/routing/observability/router-telemetry-otel/apm-guides/datadog/connecting-to-datadog/otel-collector)** provides a vendor-neutral telemetry pipeline with advanced processing capabilities including sampling, filtering, and multi-backend support.

### Datadog agent

The Datadog agent offers direct OTLP ingestion, integrating with Datadog's existing agent infrastructure for logs, infrastructure monitoring, and other telemetry collection.

- [Datadog agent traces configuration](/graphos/routing/observability/router-telemetry-otel/apm-guides/datadog/connecting-to-datadog/datadog-agent/datadog-agent-traces)
- [Datadog agent metrics configuration](/graphos/routing/observability/router-telemetry-otel/apm-guides/datadog/connecting-to-datadog/datadog-agent/datadog-agent-metrics)

### Agentless

**[Agentless](https://docs.datadoghq.com/opentelemetry/setup/otlp_ingest/)** provides direct OTLP ingestion to Datadog without requiring additional infrastructure components.

## Next steps

After setting up your connection method:

1. [Configure router instrumentation](/graphos/routing/observability/router-telemetry-otel/apm-guides/datadog/router-instrumentation) for Datadog-optimized telemetry.
2. [Import dashboard templates](/graphos/routing/observability/router-telemetry-otel/apm-guides/datadog/observing-and-monitoring/dashboard-template) for router monitoring.